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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The keyboard of a stringed instrument.






2. The structure of a piece of music.






3. The movement of chords in succession.






4. A string of chords played in succession.






5. A piece of music played at the end of a recital responding to the audiences enthusiastic reaction to the performance - shown by continuous applause.






6. The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






7. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






8. A glissando or portamento. Also refers to the moving part of a trombone.






9. A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.






10. A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.






11. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






12. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






13. A melodic or - sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.






14. Closing section of a movement.






15. Pertaining to the fugue - the overlapping of the same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.






16. To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.






17. To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written value at the discretion of the performer.






18. A short light musical drama.






19. A direction to play expressively.






20. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






21. Combining a number of individual but harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.






22. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






23. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






24. Refers to any great composer - conductor - or teacher of music.






25. A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.






26. A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.






27. A quick 20th century dance written in double time.






28. A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.






29. An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.






30. One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.






31. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






32. An extended solo - often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.






33. The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.






34. Harsh - discordant - and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.






35. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played gracefully.






36. To shift to another key.






37. A composition based on previous work. A common technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.






38. A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.






39. One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo - phrasing - dynamics - and style by gestures and facial expressions.






40. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






41. A musical theme given to a particular idea or main character of an opera.






42. Music written to be sung or played in unison.






43. Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.






44. The period of music history which dates from the mid 1800's and lasted about sixty years. There was a strong regard for order and balance.






45. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played gracefully.






46. A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.






47. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






48. A short and simple melody performed by a soloist that is part of a larger piece.






49. The intonation - pitch - and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning - feeling - or attitude of the music.






50. Suite of Baroque dances.